Dasburma meets Naveen; sets off speculation

Bhubaneswar: A day after Food and Consumer Welfare minister Sanjay Dasburma’s lawyer appeared before Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to furnish documents relating to two Pajero vehicles owned by him, the beleaguered minister on Friday met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at his office in state secretariat here.

The minister’s meeting with the Chief Minister just before his five-day visit to New Delhi has set tongues wagging. Though the exact reason behind the meeting is yet to be known, speculation is rife that this was in the context of CBI’s notice to the Dasburma.

On Thursday, a team of lawyers, led by the advocate of the minister Mihir Mohanty, visited the CBI office and submitted documents relating to two Pajero SUVs and other vehicles which are in the name of family members of Dasburma.

Notably, the CBI had issued a notice to Dasburma on April 4 and had sought details about the ownership of the two Pajero SUVs, including any vehicle he may have sold or disposed of. The Central investigating team had also asked him to give a clarification the next day. However, the minister had sent his representative Gouranga Sahoo to the CBI office on Wednesday evening to submit the documents which the CBI officials did not accept.